NOAA 19 is the fifth in a series of five Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellites (POES) with advanced microwave sounding instruments that provide imaging and sounding capabilities. Circling 530 statute miles [850 km] above Earth and completing a revolution every 100 minutes, the NOAA-N Prime will operate in the so-called "afternoon" polar orbit to replace NOAA-18 and its degraded instruments. The orbit crosses the equator from south to north at 2 p.m. on the trips around the planet. NOAA-N Prime is outfitted with instruments that provide imagery, atmospheric temperature and humidity profiles, and land and ocean surface temperature observations, all of which are key ingredients for weather forecasting. In addition, the information generates decades-long databases for climate monitoring and global change studies. In addition, the NOAA satellites are equipped with search and rescue packages that detect distress signals from emergency beacons. Over the past 26 years, the network has been credited with more than 24,000 rescues worldwide.